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If we find ourselves in a hybrid schedule in the fall set your students up for success by incorporating these 3 R’s.
What makes for successful students in a hybrid schedule is structure. The same learning routines that promote student learning in the classroom can be in place at home. It is entirely possible for students to engage in learning at the dinner table as they do at their desk in school. In doing so, parents are more successful monitoring or facilitating the “at home” portion of learning. We must be mindful that the “at home” portion of a student's hybrid experience is structured in a way that reflects what they have come to rely on in class. When teachers get this right they hold their class together as a single learning community, even though we are not physically together at the same time.
Consider what will students use to transport their school work to and from school. I advocate for an Organized Binder for each student because it equips teachers with a mechanism to implement the same learning structures both at school and at home. Organized Binder or not, to set students up for success we must equip them with processes that will allow them to get and stay organized, whether at home or at school, and on the trip between the two. We know that executive dysfunction and a lack of organizational skills impede learning. This roadblock is amplified in a hybrid schedule.
Having a mechanism for ongoing and consistent formative communication with students and their families is paramount. Whether students are submitting their work or in person or online providing timely feedback will set them up for success. Since half of their schooling is happening at home, providing comments and feedback to parents will help them intervene with their children. Also, consider mixing it up instead of relying on just one form of communication. Be sure it is consistent but consider written communication, phone calls, emails and texts, and the occasional card or note via snailmail. The more communication with students and their families the more successful students will be in a hybrid environment.
Give these three strategies a go and let me know the impact you see them having on your students’ success!
Be well,
Mitch
